The second part of the equation…
August 30, 2010
My friend Mark Provost is a personal trainer here in town. At the beginning of the summer he and I were talking about life, happiness and health. He said, “Jer, I don’t think being healthy is really that complicated. I think it can be broken down to this one equation: Move More and Eat Less. His words stayed with me this summer as I engaged in my new loves of bike riding and playing tennis. I have enjoyed living much closer to work and having the opportunity to bike back and forth. I indeed did a lot more exercising this summer. But the second part of this equation proved to be much more difficult. Summer does mean great weather for being outside and exercising but it also means more social gatherings, barbecues, and ice cream stands. As fun as it has been to move more, it has proven much more difficult to eat less.
For a long time now, I have studied many different aspects of nutrition. A lot of my studies focused on the healing powers of food and the dangers of eating processed foods, non-organic foods, processed dairy and soy. Molly and I have changed our diets so that we eat more local, organic food and less of the processed foods. We pay a little more for healthier food but we value it more. But truth be told, I have continued to have a sweet tooth and to over eat. This summer, I chose to ignore my friends advice and to indulge in my joy of eating. But I also promised myself that I would stay present to my experience and take inventory on the net result.
What have I learned? Eating less is good advice. Despite exercising more, I have not lost weight and have continued to have joint stiffness, and fatigue. Secretly, I was hoping that I would not need to pay attention to what I ate. I was hoping that moving more would be enough. This however proved to not be the case. The second part of the equation is as relevant as the first. So please bare with me as I grieve my attachments for sugar in the path of wanting to have health.
Still learning…
-Dr. Jerry
